Machines such as, for example, haul trucks, drills, loaders, conveyors, and other types of heavy equipment are commonly used in underground mining applications to perform a variety of tasks. Unlike above-ground mining applications, underground mining sites do not have access to GPS (Global Positioning System) signals, yet knowledge of a machine's on-site location is desirable, for example, with respect to the site geography.
In some underground mining applications, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) positioning systems may be used to determine the location of a machine with respect to a worksite. LIDAR systems scan the surrounding environment to identify shapes of portions of the worksite in proximity of the machine. The scanned shapes are then compared to a known map of the worksite, and the positioning system infers the position of the machine based on a correlation between the location on the map and the scanned shape.
In some applications, however, it may be difficult for LIDAR systems to determine the location of a machine based solely on the identification of shapes. For instance, the LIDAR systems may detect shapes that are not unique to a specific location, and without additional information about the general location of the machine, it may not be possible to deduce the specific location of the machine based solely on the scanned shape. In addition, there may be objects at the worksite that do not have a permanent location or that have been newly added. Such objects may cause complications for LIDAR systems that are trying to match the shapes in the worksite environment to a pre-existing map if those shapes are not included in the pre-existing map.
The disclosed positioning system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.